Jeri's Very Interesting Week
by Nate Grey
Summary: A cute series where Jeri gets everything she wants.
1. Clueless Cupid

Note: I came up with this idea for a fic, but there is a lil' problem. I can't think of why Jeri would be this darn SAD. So you can imagine a reason. Maybe she lost her lil' sock puppet friend (you'll notice it's not in the story). Maybe she misses Calumon. Maybe someone important in her life died. Totally up to the reader. Anyhow, enjoy.  
  
Summary: Guilomon turns matchmaker…although he doesn't KNOW that he has.  
  
Clueless Cupid  
  
  
  
It was late, she realized. Too late to be walking the streets.  
  
The street lamps had been on for hours now, drawing moths as well as thieves to their pale light. For moths, well, they just liked the lights. For thieves, it was a perfect place to get a better look at their prey.  
  
Not that she was concerned about moths or thieves bothering her at the moment. She was just…sad.  
  
It was raining now, blending in perfectly with her tears, but not so well with her clothes, which were soaked.  
  
She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going. And then, for no reason at all, she stopped and looked around.  
  
She was standing in front a gate. It seemed familiar, somehow. She pushed it open with one trembling hand, wincing as it squeaked and wailed in protest.  
  
She continued into…what was it, a cave? She hadn't been paying that much attention, but it was getting darker as she moved on.  
  
And then she saw them.  
  
The eyes.  
  
They were yellow, framed perfectly by the darkness. They almost seemed to glow.  
  
She gasped, taking a few cautious steps backward.  
  
The eyes came closer, and a familiar voice said, "I know you."  
  
She blinked, trying to remember who he was. He seemed to be doing the same as his gaze traveled over her damp face, past her soaked clothes, and down to her soggy shoes.  
  
After a long moment, the eyes came closer, and she could see that were attached to a red and black reptilian head, with two little wings on the top of it.  
  
"I know you," he repeated, his yellow eyes wide, as if conveying his innocence. "You were here with Takatomon. You're…" He paused, squinting in thought. "Jerimon!"  
  
She smiled a bit, reaching up to pat his snout. "Hi, Guilmon," she whispered.  
  
He came closer, pressing his snout against her cheek. Then he drew back, surprised to find it damp. "Jerimon, you're wet," he pointed out.  
  
She nodded. "Yes. I was…walking, and…" She trailed off, uncertain of what to say.  
  
Guilmon tilted his head a bit as her eyes watered and tears spilled down her cheeks. "Jerimon, you're going to get wet again," he warned. "You might get sick."  
  
"I…I…" She covered her face with her hands and fell to her knees. "I just don't understand why!" she sobbed.  
  
"Jerimon…" Guilmon came closer, gently pressing his snout into her brown hair. It smelled like rain and peaches.  
  
She threw her arms around his neck, still sobbing.  
  
Guilmon carefully picked her up and moved further into the darkness. "Don't cry, Jerimon. You can stay here with me until you feel better." He set her down on her feet, then flopped onto the ground and closed his eyes.  
  
She carefully sat down beside him. The floor was actually quite soft, covered in something warm. Blankets, she realized, running her hand over them. "This must be where he was sitting. And I woke him up…"  
  
Guilmon began to snore lightly.  
  
She laid down, resting her back against his warm belly. A red and black arm was thrown over her, almost protectively, and she smiled, running her fingers along it in slow circles. Soon both of them were asleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Takato adjusted the backpack on his shoulders as he slipped inside the gate, which was slightly open. It wasn't big enough for Guilmon to slip through, so he wasn't too worried.  
  
He was a little shocked to find Jeri, though, sleeping next to Guilmon with a peaceful look on her face. Then he smiled.  
  
Carefully, so as not to wake them, he pulled an extra blanket from the wall and draped it over them both.  
  
Jeri's eyes drifted open. "Ta…Takato?" she breathed.  
  
He froze. "Jeri?"  
  
"Thank you," she murmured.  
  
He smiled. "You're welcome. I'll leave you two alone and-"  
  
"No," she whispered, catching his hand before he could move away. "Stay with me. Please?"  
  
He blinked in surprise. "What?"  
  
"Stay? Please…" Her eyes closed, and she went back to sleep.  
  
Takato stared at her for a long moment, then ran his free hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face. "Goodnight, Jeri."  
  
* * * * *  
  
She groaned softly and slowly opened her eyes. Then sun was up now, she could see.  
  
A loud snore assaulted her ears, and she relaxed, realizing it was only Guilmon.  
  
Then she saw…him.  
  
Takato was lying beside her, a content look on his face. Even in sleep, his hand still held hers.  
  
She smiled and scooted closer, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.  
  
His eyes snapped open. "Jeri?"  
  
"Morning, Takato." She batted her eyelashes. "So is this how you tell a girl how you feel?" she asked, indicating their hands.  
  
Takato's eyes widened. "But…you…I mean…we didn't…"  
  
She giggled and squeezed his hand again. "Thank you for staying with me."  
  
"Oh. No problem," he said slowly.  
  
"Well, I better go home. My parents will worry." She let go of his hand and stood up.  
  
"That's a good idea," he said, standing with her.  
  
She reached down to pat Guilmon's head. "Bye, Guilmon!"  
  
A snore was his reply.  
  
She turned back to Takato. "Oh, I almost forgot!"  
  
"Huh? Forgot what?"  
  
She came closer and briefly pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. "Happy Valentine's Day, Takato!"  
  
He turned bright red and pressed a hand to his mouth. "Jeri…"  
  
She smiled brightly at him them skipped away. "Bye, guys!"  
  
Guilmon grunted and sat up. "What is Valentine's Day, Takatomon?"  
  
There was a blank look on Takato's face as he stared after Jeri. "A day when you tell someone you love them, I guess."  
  
"Is that what Jerimon told you?"  
  
Takato shrugged. "In a way, but…"  
  
"What's wrong, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked.  
  
"Well, it's just that Valentine's Day isn't for three more months." Then he smiled and shook his head. "Same old Jeri." Although his smile was considerably larger than usual.  
  
  
  
The End. 


	2. Great Power, Small Package

Note: I'm attempting to turn this into a series. Yes, be afraid. It doesn't follow the 03 timeline exactly, since I'm writing this and watching the episodes at the same time.  
  
Summary: Jeri gets her own Digimon!…sorta.  
  
Great Power, Small Package  
  
  
  
Normally, she would've just walked home. But Jeri was in a very good mood, so she bounced, skipped, and even cartwheeled a few times, until she got dizzy. So dizzy, in fact, that she was bound to bump into someone.  
  
Naturally, she did.  
  
"Hey!" a familiar voice cried out.  
  
Jeri shook her head to clear it, then looked up to see a slightly older girl glaring at her. "Hey, I know you! You're Takato's friend!"  
  
The girl narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so."  
  
"But I saw you with him and Henry!"  
  
"You also talk to a sock puppet. I wouldn't trust myself if I were you, kid." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Anyway, you should watch where you're cartwheeling."  
  
"Sorry!" Jeri apologized, smiling at her. "But I just came back from seeing Takato & Guilmon, and they-"  
  
"I didn't ask for your daily diary," Rika snapped. "Just stay out of my way." She quickly walked past.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Jeri called, running after her. "Don't be mad!"  
  
Rika paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, great. Now I've got a crazy Digimon AND a crazy kid stalking me."  
  
"Did…you say Digimon?" Jeri asked, her eyes widening. "You've got one, too?"  
  
"Trust me, this one isn't mine. In fact, you can have it." Rika pulled something small and shiny out of her pocket and threw it at Jeri. "Catch!"  
  
Jeri just barely caught the strange device in time. "But what is this thing?" She looked up to see Rika already half a block away, and she was only going faster by the second. "And what does it do?"  
  
"Ooooh! Shiny!" a playful voice behind her shouted.  
  
Jeri looked down to see a white and purple blur running around her feet in a circle. Suddenly, whatever it was jumped up and made a grab for the device in her hands.  
  
"Oh, no you don't!" Jeri closed her left hand around the device and entrapped the struggling creature with her right arm. "Gotcha!"  
  
"Hey! Gimme it back!" the creature demanded. "And let me go!"  
  
"I will if you answer my questions. Are you a Digimon, too?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Well, yeah! Everybody knows that, silly!"  
  
"Then you must have a name, right?"  
  
"I'm Calumon! What's your name, and are you fun?"  
  
Jeri giggled. "Well, I guess you'll have to find out. What's this thing?" she asked, opening her left hand to reveal the device.  
  
"Mine!" Calumon replied, pouncing on it.  
  
"What's it do?"  
  
"Do? Um…" Calumon scratched his head. "Uh…it makes noises and lights sometimes, and it has all my friends inside!"  
  
"Friends?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Yeah! See?" Calumon shook the device until it beeped, startling him. "Whoa!"  
  
Jeri caught it and stared at the image being projected. "That's Guilmon!"  
  
"I TOLD you they were in there!"  
  
"Well, Takato is Guilmon's Tamer. Where's yours?"  
  
"Tamer? What's that?" Calumon asked.  
  
"Um…someone that takes care of a Digimon, I guess."  
  
"I dunno. I can take care of myself just fine…"  
  
"Well, how would you like a human friend?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Um…okay! What's a human?"  
  
Jeri giggled. "I think I'm going to like you, Calumon."  
  
"Sure! Everyone does!" Calumon picked up the device and expanded his ears.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"I gotta go find some more fun!" He leaped out of her arms and flew into the air. "Bye!"  
  
"Be careful!" Jeri shouted. "And look both ways before crossing the street!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So…you think Jeri's supposed to be a Tamer?" Henry asked.  
  
"Well, she gets along great with Guilmon." Takato scratched his head. "And just because she doesn't have a Digimon doesn't mean she isn't a Tamer. I mean, I MADE Guilmon."  
  
"But you already tried to get Calumon to be her Digimon, didn't you?"  
  
"I think that Calumon was meant to be free. Besides, he's the only one that can help us digivolve without cards, and he never actually fights himself."  
  
"I don't know, Takato. Just because someone likes a Digimon doesn't meant they're meant to be a Tamer. My little sister adores Terriermon, but I'd be very afraid the day she got her own Digimon."  
  
"So would I," Terriermon muttered from his shoulder, shuddering slightly.  
  
"It was just an idea," Takato said with a shrug. "Anyway, how are we supposed to know if there are any other Tamers?"  
  
"I guess we'd just run into each other when a renegade Digimon popped up," Henry replied.  
  
"Yeah! And then I'd flatten 'em with my Bunny Pummel!" Terriermon added.  
  
"No, you wouldn't," Henry said firmly.  
  
"Aw, man…you're no fun, Henry! Momentie!"  
  
"You're not going to 'Momentie' your way out of this one. No fighting."  
  
"But Guilmon gets to fight!"  
  
"Guilmon is a dinosaur. Of course he gets to fight!"  
  
Takato was just thinking of excusing himself when his D-Power began to beep. "Um…guys, look!"  
  
Henry & Terriermon were STILL arguing.  
  
Takato sighed and took a closer look. "Hmm…oh, it's just Impmon again. False alarm."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Impmon was in a particularly nasty mood. Not that he had any reason to be, mind you. Maybe it had something to do with Calumon not being around to torture.  
  
Maybe it was because he was just plain bad.  
  
At any rate, he decided to do something REALLY bad.  
  
First, he would venture out and burn a couple of humans. Then, he would set Guilmon up to take the fall. Fortunately, since they both had flame attacks, Guilmon's Tamer wouldn't know the difference. It was the first time Impmon was actually glad he had something in common with a tamed Digimon.  
  
It wasn't long before Impmon decided on his first victim. She had the whole "I'm-SO-cute" thing going for her, and was the perfect target. With an evil smile, he sprang from the shadows and attacked.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Renamon was not following Calumon. That would've been crazy and ultimately pointless.  
  
She was spying on him. That was much more clever, and plus, it was downright sneaky.  
  
Rika would be proud. That is, if she had any interest in what Calumon did with his free time (but then, all time was free time to Calumon).  
  
But she didn't.  
  
Renamon had only been spying for a few minutes when she sensed…something. And it wasn't from Rika. Still, she got the distinct feeling that someone needed help, and that a wild Digimon was involved.  
  
Amazingly enough, Calumon seemed to sense it, too, because he suddenly took to the air, heading in the same direction she'd been planning on going.  
  
Renamon instantly gave up spying and opted for following. If Calumon was going, there was a good chance that someone was going to digivolve.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Jeri did not consider herself to be a very strong girl, or even a very brave one. If she ever got in a situation where she had to fight, she would most likely scream her head off until someone (she would hope for Takato, but anyone would do, really) took pity on her and stepped in for a last-minute rescue.  
  
Fortunately for her, Impmon's ears were quite sensitive.  
  
Unfortunately for her, Impmon didn't like the fact that she was exploiting the fact that his ears were quite sensitive. It seemed she would have to pay for that.  
  
"Do you know," he said quietly, "how much I HATE hearing kids do that?!"  
  
Jeri instantly stopped screaming.  
  
"Too late." He held up a finger, chuckling as a tiny, pink fireball materialized over it.  
  
From her position on the ground, Jeri tried to back away. "Please," she whispered. "What…do you want?"  
  
"I want you to die in silence," he growled, just before pointing his finger at her. "Bada-BOOM!"  
  
The fireball suddenly tripled in size and flew at her.  
  
Jeri closed her eyes and, despite Impmon's wishes, screamed as loudly as was humanly possible for her.  
  
There was a sound not entirely like *oof!*, and something soft and warm landed in her lap.  
  
Jeri slowly opened her eyes and gasped. "Calumon!"  
  
Calumon groaned and opened his eyes. "That hurt," he reported sadly, rubbing the singed half of his face.  
  
Jeri carefully wrapped her arms around the little Digimon. "You…saved me, Calumon."  
  
Calumon suddenly remembered that the rescue wasn't quite complete yet. "Uh oh…"  
  
Jeri looked up to see Impmon ready to fire again. Only this time he had TWO fireballs.  
  
"Two for one!" Impmon shouted, laughing as the fireballs flew from his fingertips.  
  
Jeri hugged Calumon tighter and made a silent wish that it would end quickly.  
  
And she got it…but not the way she'd expected.  
  
The purple device around Calumon's neck began to beep loudly. "Digivolution."  
  
There was a bright light, and for a few endless moments, Jeri couldn't see anything.  
  
Then the light faded, and Calumon hopped out of her lap. "Calumon digivolve to…!"  
  
He paused, and the red upside-down triangle design on his forehead doubled in size.  
  
"Diosmon!"  
  
Jeri blinked a few times. She was under the impression that Digimon changed when they digivolved, and got stronger. But Calumon…well, Diosmon, apparently…didn't look any different than he normally did. She became much more afraid then.  
  
But Diosmon looked very confident as he planted himself in the path of the two fireballs. His ears expanded, and he shouted at the top of his tiny lungs, "RECALL!"  
  
The device around his neck beeped again. "Recall activated. Accessing files…"  
  
Around this time, the fireballs slammed into Diosmon, but he looked for all the world as if they'd had no effect at all.  
  
Clearly frustrated by now, Impmon fired again and again. Not that it did any good.  
  
"Desired file found."  
  
Diosmon's body began to glow and contort as he grew taller and wider. "Diosmon digivolve to…!"  
  
Impmon stopped attacking and watched in awe.  
  
The glow faded, and the Digimon once known as Diosmon stretched its wings. "Angemon!"  
  
Impmon blinked a few times, then took off running.  
  
Angemon smirked and thrust his right hand forward. "Hand of Fate!"  
  
The attack caught Impmon square in the back and carried him at least twenty miles away before dropping him in a river.  
  
Angemon shrank until he was Calumon again, then collapsed to the ground.  
  
Jeri ran over and scooped him up. "Calumon?! Speak to me, please!"  
  
Calumon opened one eye. "I'm sleepy," he announced before letting out a tiny yawn.  
  
Jeri smiled and kissed his forehead. "Thank you, Calumon."  
  
Calumon smiled dreamily. "Maybe you ARE fun…"  
  
Jeri giggled and carefully stood up. "I'd better get you home. Is that okay?"  
  
"Only if we have…more…fun…" Calumon's ears contracted and he fell asleep.  
  
Renamon watched in silence as Jeri slowly walked away. Then she faded back into the shadows. She had a feeling Rika would want to hear all about this… 


	3. Calumon's Big Day

Note: I can't really explain what 'Recall' is just yet. I made it up, and I'm still deciding on the possibilities of it. Comments on characterization (especially Rika & Renamon) would be great, since I'm still getting used to these kids and their Digital Demons. Er…Digital Monsters. Well, I liked the Demon one better…  
  
Summary: Jeri and Calumon are friends…but are they partners?  
  
Calumon's Big Day  
  
  
  
Calumon woke up to a very pleasant feeling. He was surrounded by white, feathery softness, and felt completely safe. That was important, considering he was still tired from his fight with Impmon. Soon, his green eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he could make out a…person…type…thing lying next to him. What had she called herself again? Ah, yes. A human. But what had she called herself before that?  
  
It seemed that fight with Impmon was starting to affect his memory. At least, he thought it had been a fight. All he could remember was that Jeri (THAT was her name!) was about to get hurt when he'd jumped in, and then the very quiet way she'd sang to him and rocked him on the way home. Well, that's where he was now, then. In Jeri's home, in Jeri's room, and in Jeri's bed, which he was starting to like a lot. Maybe Guilmon and Terriermon had been right about how nice it was to have a Tamer.  
  
"You're cute when you're pondering," a voice said.  
  
Calumon blinked and looked up to see Jeri smiling down at him.  
  
"Feeling better?" she asked, sounding hopeful.  
  
The slight change in her voice, the part that sounded like she was worried about him…it was nice, he decided right away. No one had ever really been worried about him, not like this. It was different, but he liked it. So instead of answering, Calumon burrowed his way into her arms and closed his eyes. As he'd hoped, she hugged him closer and brushed his forehead with a kiss. Then the world faded to a calm, peaceful black.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Rika was used to eating her lunch alone. Well, not in the everyday sense. For most people, alone was just…alone. For Rika, it was still alone…but having a telepathic link with her Digimon, who just happened to be able to teleport over miles in a matter of seconds, was a decidedly different kind of alone. A fun kind. Especially when you wanted—no, needed—to talk to someone you knew would listen right then.  
  
Not that Rika often—or ever—needed or wanted that, but it was nice to know the option was there.  
  
And then, of course, it worked both ways, she realized as Renamon suddenly "arrived" on a tree branch overhead. Anyone else might've been shocked, or at least inclined to stare. But Rika just calmly finished her lunch. "What's up?" she asked.  
  
Renamon peered down at her with what could only be called an amused look. That was quite unusual for her, Rika noted. It was as if she was about to tell a joke…a possibility that was truly frightening in itself.  
  
"Calumon," she said simply, as if that explained everything she'd been thinking.  
  
Rika sighed. "What ABOUT him?"  
  
The amused look was still there. "He…digivolved. Last night."  
  
Rika blinked and risked a glance upward, then reminded herself not to draw attention to a live Digimon and looked away. "How?" she asked after a long moment.  
  
"That," Renamon replied with something of a smile, "is the interesting part. He did it to protect Takato's little girlfriend from Impmon."  
  
Rika blinked again, this time in utter disbelief. "Takato's WHO?"  
  
Renamon made a flimsy motion with her right paw, clearly exasperated. "You know. That girl that's always hanging around him. The one you don't like."  
  
Rika threw her a glance.  
  
"The one you REALLY don't like," Renamon added.  
  
"Oh. Her." Rika blinked yet again. "Weird."  
  
"Yes. But there is more, and it's MUCH more interesting than that."  
  
"Really? What could be more interesting than that?"  
  
"Calumon digivolved into Diosmon…who looks exactly the same as Calumon…and who is apparently very invincible."  
  
"Huh." It was as close as Rika was going to get to admitting that it all sounded probable.  
  
"And then Diosmon digivolved into Angemon."  
  
Rika stopped pretending she wasn't interested then. "Say that again."  
  
"Angemon," Renamon repeated.  
  
"TK's Digimon," Rika said, almost as if it were a question.  
  
"That's right. He called it 'Recall' or something similar, and then this purple thing around his neck-"  
  
"That…thing he had yesterday. I thought it was a D-Power, but…"  
  
"It wasn't," Renamon offered. "I could tell that much. But he definitely digivolved, and he was definitely very strong."  
  
"How strong?" There was an uneasy edge to Rika's tone.  
  
"Well, it's impossible to say. He might be able to 'Recall' any of the Digidestined Digimon. Or some of the evil ones. Or all of them. Asking him is pointless, of course."  
  
"Of course," Rika agreed. "So what do we do?"  
  
"I'll watch him," Renamon replied, standing up. "You…"  
  
"What?" Rika asked.  
  
Renamon got the amused look one last time. "Nothing. Just…have a good day." With that, she was gone.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Takato wasn't really paying attention to his classmates as they came in the classroom. He was thinking about what WarGrowlmon might look like if he digivolved.  
  
Then, for no real reason at all, he glanced at the doorway, saw Calumon waving at him, and waved back. It took three seconds for that to sink in, and five seconds to realize that something wasn't quite right. He looked again.  
  
Calumon had stopped waving, and with good reason. There was now a crowd of girls around Jeri, admiring her new pink overalls and talking about how cute her stuffed animal was. Calumon was the stuffed animal, and he was sitting in the big front pocket of her overalls, looking cuter than he ever had.  
  
Takato blinked a few times, then glanced over at Henry, who was looking back at him with a "don't-look-at-me, she's-YOUR-friend" look. Takato had to admit that was true, and shot him a goofy "yeah, but-aren't-they-cute?" grin.  
  
Henry sighed and shook his head in a "somehow, some-way, we'll-regret-this" manner and dropped his head on his desk.  
  
Takato sat up in his seat and smiled. Calumon was in his class. School had never been this much fun.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Guilmon was bored. Well, that was a bad word for it. He was hungry, bored, and wishing he had something to do until Takato came back from whatever it was that he and Henry did at school. They didn't exactly seem crazy about it themselves, but it didn't sound like they had much of a choice. Guilmon had offered to go and defeat the evil force behind school, but Henry had calmly explained that the principal wasn't evil, just old and evil-looking. Guilmon didn't see the difference, but to help rid him of his boredom, Henry had promised to drop off Terriermon every day before he went to school.  
  
Henry was usually good with his promises. But for some reason, there had been no sign of Terriermon today. Which left Guilmon with the huge challenge of entertaining himself.  
  
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before he caught a familiar scent. With a feral growl, Guilmon slipped out of the park, focused solely on his newfound prey.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So where is Terriermon today, anyway?" Takato asked.  
  
Henry sighed. "It was Show & Tell day for Susie's class, and the only thing she would bring was him."  
  
Takato made a face. "Poor guy."  
  
"I know. It'll be at least a month before he forgives me. I just hope she doesn't lose him."  
  
"No problem. Guilmon could always sniff him out, if it came to that."  
  
Henry shrugged. "I guess. But I still wish I hadn't let her take him."  
  
"Take who?" Jeri asked as she popped up beside him.  
  
Henry took a step back, clearly startled. "Don't DO that!"  
  
Jeri grinned. "Sorry, Henry. Didn't realize you were so jumpy."  
  
Henry rolled his eyes. "You'd be jumpy, too, if people kept popping up on you."  
  
"Henry's got a bunch of sisters," Takato explained. "And none of them knows what privacy is."  
  
"Oh, they know what it is," Henry muttered. "They just pretend they don't."  
  
"Um…Jeri…where's Calumon?" Takato asked, noticing that her front pocket was empty.  
  
"He got hungry during gym, so he went off for a while." Jeri's voice lost some of its usual cheeriness. "I hope he's okay by himself…"  
  
"Calumon's a very independent Digimon, so I'm sure he's fine," Henry said. "Anyway, how'd you get him to stay with you for so long?"  
  
Jeri stared at him. "Um…what do you mean? I didn't do anything."  
  
"You mean to tell me Calumon just walked up to you and asked to go for a ride in your pocket?"  
  
"That DOES kinda sound like something he'd do, though," Takato pointed out.  
  
Jeri thought for a moment. "Well, I did give him some breakfast and clean him off after the fight, but I-"  
  
"Fight?!" Takato cried.  
  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. There was this mean, loud purple demon thingee yesterday that tried to hurt me."  
  
"Impmon," Henry guessed.  
  
Takato's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay, Jeri? If he even looks at you wrong, Guilmon and I'll-"  
  
"Calumon beat him up," Jeri interrupted, smiling. It was nice to know Takato was concerned about her.  
  
"Calumon? The same little guy that was in your pocket today? THAT Calumon?" Henry asked.  
  
Jeri nodded. "Well, not exactly. First he digivolved, THEN he beat up Impmon."  
  
Takato and Henry looked at each other, then her. "Tell us EVERYTHING!" they demanded.  
  
"Okay! Calm down, boys! It started when I was walking home yesterday, and I ran into your friend, Rika."  
  
"Rika is NOT our friend," Takato said firmly.  
  
Jeri looked at him. "Takato! I'm surprised at you!"  
  
"You don't understand, Jeri," Henry sighed. "Those are Rika's words, not Takato's…"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Renamon was starting to regret spying on Calumon. Not because of guilt or anything like that, but because he just wasn't that interesting anymore. She almost wished a wild Digimon would show up just so she could see him in action again. In truth, she was more interested in Diosmon, but the most dangerous thing Calumon had done all afternoon was steal a triple fudge cone from an ice cream truck.  
  
She was so busy thinking that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. She did, however, feel the heavy body that crashed into hers from behind and shouted playfully, "You're It!"  
  
He wouldn't dare, she told herself. And yet, when she looked up, there he was.  
  
It seemed Reptile Boy had a death wish. Well, she'd show him how real Digimon fought battles. All she had to do was shake away the stars and catch him, and…he was surprisingly fast, she noted as he turned the corner at the end of the block.  
  
With a smile, she leaped to her feet. The chase was on.  
  
It went on, back and forth, for at least forty-five minutes, when Guilmon finally gave up trying to catch her. He'd been trying to argue that teleporting was cheating, since only one of them could do it. Renamon had replied that it was simply loser talk and typical of someone with a peanut- sized brain. Guilmon had pretended to be hurt and offended.  
  
THEN he'd shoved her into a conveniently placed mud puddle and run off laughing.  
  
The lizard was actually very cunning, she admitted silently, wiping the mud from her fur as best she could. And she, most obviously, was a complete mess.  
  
Correction: a complete mess that Calumon was now laughing and pointing at.  
  
"What happened to YOU?" he asked between giggles.  
  
Renamon frowned and dropped a pawful of mud on his head. "That."  
  
"Hey!" Calumon tried to wipe it off.  
  
"Here, let me help." Renamon grabbed him and dunked his face in the mud. She watched him struggle for a few seconds, then let go. "What happened to YOU?" she asked in a mocking tone.  
  
Calumon grinned and pointed behind her. "Why don't you ask him?"  
  
Renamon turned in time to see a red and black body coming straight at her.  
  
"You're It!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Terriermon finally stopped running to catch his breath. It had taken hours, but he'd finally escaped the horror that was Susie. He didn't feel the least bit guilty, either. You could only push a Digimon so far, and Terriermon drew the line at Princess Pretty Pants. He hadn't thought Susie would try that in public, though. She had, of course.  
  
Realizing he was close to the park, anyway, Terriermon decided to hide out with Guilmon.  
  
That was when he came across the first muddy footprint. Confused, he looked up.  
  
"Hi!" Calumon said.  
  
Terriermon blinked. "Um…what happened to you guys?"  
  
"Mud fight," Guilmon replied.  
  
"How'd you get HER to play?" he asked, nodding to Renamon.  
  
"She was It!" Guilmon answered, giving Renamon a good-natured pat on the back.  
  
Renamon glared at him. "Never do that again."  
  
Terriermon sighed and shook his head. "I'll get a hose."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"I am SO sorry, Terriermon," Henry said for the fifty-second time. "I will make this up to you."  
  
Terriermon sighed. "I might forgive you some time next century."  
  
"Come on, don't be like that," Henry muttered as he searched for his house keys.  
  
"Have you ever played with your sister? I mean, REALLY played with her? She's…WEIRD!"  
  
"I know she can be…eccentric," Henry admitted, finally locating his keys.  
  
"You are now a master of understatement, Henry. Besides, I don't think you- "  
  
The door suddenly swung open, and Henry looked up to see his father standing there. Thankfully, Terriermon was smart enough to be quiet, but Henry had a sinking feeling it was already too late.  
  
To make things worse, Susie appeared next, a huge grin on her face. "Tewwiamon!" she squealed, scooping him up in her arms. "I missed you today!" She turned and headed back to her room.  
  
Henry started to say something, then sighed and gave Terriermon a sympathetic look. Terriermon's look, to say the least, was certainly not sympathetic. It was more along the lines of outraged and possibly murderous.  
  
"Henry."  
  
Henry swallowed noisily and looked at his father.  
  
Mr. Wong had never looked more serious. "I think," he said quietly, "that we need to have a long talk."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So, did you have fun today?" Jeri asked.  
  
"Yup!" Calumon replied, bouncing on her bed. "We had a mud fight!"  
  
"Really? Who won?"  
  
"Um…I think it was a tie between me and Guilmon. I was harder to hold on to, but he's got good aim."  
  
Jeri smiled, patting Calumon's head fondly. He was really too cute sometimes, like every other second. She couldn't remember how she'd kept busy before he came along. Then she remembered: wondering how Takato really felt about her. The thought made her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.  
  
"What's wrong with your face?" Calumon asked, looking confused.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking about someone."  
  
"Is it Takato?" Calumon asked with a big grin.  
  
Jeri blushed and turned away. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"Well, sometimes when you're around him, he looks the same way. I figured there was a connection."  
  
"You've…really seen him do that?"  
  
Calumon hopped on her shoulder. "Sure! You should give him a lip thing!"  
  
Jeri blinked. "A…what?"  
  
"A lip thing!" Calumon repeated. "You know, those nice little soft things you give me sometimes?"  
  
Jeri stared at him, and then giggled. "You mean a kiss?"  
  
"No, a lip thing!"  
  
Jeri had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. "Like this?" she asked, giving him a peck on the cheek.  
  
"Yeah, those! They always make ME feel better. You should give him one!"  
  
"I did, once," Jeri said quietly.  
  
"And did he look happy?"  
  
"Well, yeah…"  
  
"So it worked! Give him more!"  
  
Jeri smiled at him. "I don't suppose you digivolve into something called Cupidmon, do you?"  
  
Calumon blinked. "Um…I could try!"  
  
"You'd better not. You should save your strength, in case I need you again."  
  
"Okay!" Calumon got a thoughtful look on his face. "Jeri?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"If I asked you to be my Tamer…would you do it?"  
  
Jeri froze. "Are you…asking me, Calumon?"  
  
"Huh? Well, um…no…I mean, at least not NOW! But…I might later…soon…so…" He trailed off, a helpless look on his face.  
  
Jeri reached up and stroked his head. "I'd love to be your Tamer, Calumon, but…" She sighed, a sad smile on her face. "I can handle the easy side of it, like taking care of you and keeping you happy. But I'm not so sure I'd be any good at the hard side."  
  
"The…hard side?" Calumon asked.  
  
"Making you fight," she said quietly. "I don't like the idea of sending you into a fight, unless it was to protect me or our friends. Takato told me it can be really dangerous sometimes, and I was so scared when you fought Impmon. I thought he was going to…kill you…"  
  
"So then…you won't be my Tamer? Ever?" Calumon asked, his ears drooping.  
  
"I don't know if you need a Tamer, Calumon," Jeri replied. "You can take care of yourself just fine."  
  
"But…what if I want YOU to take care of me?"  
  
Jeri smiled a bit. "Well, if that's what you want, then I guess I could still be your friend."  
  
"Will you still sing to me at night? And tell me how cute I am? And take me to school with you?"  
  
"You like it when I do those things?"  
  
"Yeah!" Calumon cried. "They're…FUN! YOU'RE fun! My fun friend!"  
  
"Then we can have more fun first thing in the morning. Right now, I'm going to bed."  
  
Calumon sat back and watched as Jeri climbed into bed. Then he leaped on after her and put a pillow on her chest.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jeri asked as he piled two blankets on top of her.  
  
"When I woke up, I was in a soft, white cave. You gotta try it!"  
  
"That was a pillow, Calumon, and I have plenty. Just come up here."  
  
Calumon hopped onto the pillow and bounced. "Hey, it's even softer than before!"  
  
Jeri caught him as he came down. "But you're supposed to sleep on it. Like this." She put him down on the pillow and pulled the blanket up over them both. "Now, isn't that comfortable?"  
  
"I like my way better." Calumon burrowed under the blanket and emerged in her arms. "Now, isn't THIS comfortable?" he demanded.  
  
Jeri smiled and kissed the top of his head. "I guess so."  
  
"Ooooh, lip thing! You're good at those."  
  
"I'm glad you think so. I just hope Takato does, too…" 


	4. A Tamer's Guide to Dating

Note: Sorry for the wait. I wanted to catch the newer episodes and see Impmon digivolve before I wrote anything else.  
  
Summary: Henry discovers the secret of Calumon's immense power, while Jeri and Takato hang out.  
  
A Tamer's Guide to Dating  
  
  
  
Henry fumbled with his hands nervously as his father stared out of the window. So far, nothing had been said, and he had a feeling it would only get worse.  
  
"Do you know," Mr. Wong said suddenly, "where the first Digimon were created?"  
  
"No, Dad."  
  
He raised a finger and tapped his forehead. "Right here. Just a handful of college students, myself included, came up with them one day. Granted, the early versions were nothing like the ones you're probably used to. I guess by now they'd be outdated…or maybe even extinct, as it were."  
  
"So…you helped create Digimon?"  
  
"That's right, son. We came up with the basic programming that would become necessary for any Digimon to exist. Of course, it's probably been modified by now, but some things have to remain constant."  
  
"Why are you telling me this, Dad?"  
  
Mr. Wong turned away from the window and looked at his son. "Henry, the Digimon we created only got as far as the monitors on our computers. They were living creatures, but they were not living, breathing creatures that you could touch. Obviously, that was years ago, and it's no longer true." He frowned slightly. "What's his name?"  
  
Henry blinked. "Him who?"  
  
Mr. Wong just stared at him.  
  
"Oh. It's Terriormon."  
  
The expression on his father's face didn't change.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing. I was just hoping he was one I could recognize from the old days. Must be one of the newer ones." Mr. Wong cleared his throat. "Does Susie…?"  
  
"No. She thinks he's stuffed." Henry paled a bit. "Which is starting to become a problem."  
  
Mr. Wong almost smiled. "Well, if I rescued him, do you think he'd talk to me for a while? I've got some questions for him."  
  
"Dad, if you rescued him from Susie, Terriormon would worship the ground you walk on."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Come on, Jeri! You can do it!"  
  
"Okay, okay! Stop yelling!"  
  
"So do it already!"  
  
Jeri took a deep breath and dialed the number, muttering nervously to herself. "Please don't be home, be at the park with Guilmon, just don't pick up the pho-"  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Jeri sighed in defeat and closed her eyes. "Hi, Takato. It's me."  
  
"Jeri?" he said after a slight pause. "Well, this is a nice surprise."  
  
Jeri's cheeks turned pink. "I…um…it is?"  
  
"Sure. Actually, I was just about to invite you and Calumon to meet us at the park."  
  
"Oh…really?"  
  
"What's he saying, what's he saying?! Tell meeee!"  
  
Jeri did her best to ignore the excited Digimon on her head. "That…sounds like fun."  
  
There was a longer pause. "Jeri, is something wrong?"  
  
"Wrong? Why would anything be wrong?"  
  
"Well…you don't sound like…you. Y'know?"  
  
"Um…I don't?"  
  
"Don't what?" Calumon asked, bouncing on her shoulder.  
  
"What was that?" Takato asked.  
  
"Huh? Oh, that's Calumon. Hey…you wanna talk to him?!"  
  
"I don't know if that's a good id-"  
  
Jeri shoved the phone up to Calumon's face. "He wants to talk to you!"  
  
"Great! Hi, Takato!"  
  
There was an audible sigh on the other end. "Hi, Calumon…"  
  
Jeri sighed in relief and collapsed across her bed. Talking to Takato had been so much easier back when he was just the cute boy on the other side of the classroom that was obsessed with Digimon. Now he was the cute boy who obviously cared about her a great deal. Things got so much harder when you were dealing with all these…feelings.  
  
Calumon chattered on for another ten minutes before hanging up and hopping on Jeri's back. "C'mon, we gotta go, let's go, let's gooooo!"  
  
"Go where?" Jeri asked.  
  
"To meet Takato at the park! I told him I'd bring you!"  
  
"What?!" Jeri grabbed Calumon and shook him. "Why'd you do that?! Now I HAVE to go!"  
  
Calumon's eyes rolled about in his head for a few moments. "But…I thought you LIKED him?" he asked in a dizzy voice.  
  
"I DO! But he can't KNOW that yet!"  
  
Calumon frowned as his head cleared. "You humans are weird. If you like each other, why don't you just say so? That's what I'd do."  
  
"It's not that simple!"  
  
"Sure it is!" Calumon hopped onto her head. "I like you! See, that wasn't hard at all!"  
  
Jeri groaned and shook her head. "It's just different for humans, Calumon. And now if I don't go, Takato will think I don't like him."  
  
"So…you DO like him, but you don't want him to know. But if you don't go, he'll think you don't like him. So…if you DO go and you act like you don't like him, won't he just think you don't like him, anyway?"  
  
"No! Because the fact that I showed up indicates I do like him, but the fact that I'm nervous indicates that even though I'm not feeling too good, I still want to be near him, and that means that I REALLY like him, but I can't say it."  
  
Calumon frowned. "I still say just give him a lip thing and get it all over with."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Did I mention I love you, Henry's Dad?" Terriormon asked.  
  
Mr. Wong sighed and removed Terriormon's ears from his face. He'd never been face-hugged by two large, floppy ears before, and he didn't want it to become a habit. "Yes, several times. But I'll be happy if you can just answer some questions for me."  
  
Terriormon started to leap to Henry's shoulders, then remembered what he'd just been through with Susie and decided he was still mad about it. "Fine with me." He chose the chair instead.  
  
"Have you ever encountered a Digimon that seemed like it was unstoppable?"  
  
Terriormon thought for a moment. "Well…everyone gets beaten, sooner or later."  
  
"In that case, have you ever met one that seemed extremely difficult to beat?"  
  
"Hmm…Mihiramon. That was one tough tiger. But I guess all the Devas have been tough so far."  
  
"These Devas…are they good or evil?"  
  
"Well, they seem to wanna kick the tar out of us, so my money's on evil."  
  
Mr. Wong looked disappointed. "Oh. The Digimon I'm looking for would be good."  
  
Terriormon scratched his head. "I would say Renamon, but she seems kinda evil half the time. Guilmon's okay, but definitely not unstoppable. Man, those first few days, I thought he'd never stop gettin' knocked on his butt…"  
  
"Calumon!" Henry cried suddenly.  
  
Terriormon and Mr. Wong looked at him. "What?"  
  
"Um…I think it could be him," Henry muttered, blushing. "Well, now I do, after what Jeri told us."  
  
"Does this Calumon help other Digimon?"  
  
"Well, he's always around when we digivolve, and he keeps us entertained, if you call that helping."  
  
"This is very important, son." Mr. Wong took a deep breath. "Is there a geometric shape anywhere on his body? It would be blue or purple or-"  
  
"Red?" Terriormon guessed, looking at Henry.  
  
Mr. Wong blinked. "Yes."  
  
"Triangle?" Henry asked.  
  
"That's…possible. Oh, dear."  
  
"What? What is it, Dad?"  
  
Mr. Wong looked worried and relieved at the same time. "I think we've found the protection program."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Takato watched Guilmon finish off the last of the day-old bread. "I don't think they're coming, pal."  
  
"What? But why not, Takato?"  
  
"I don't know, but it's been a whole half hour already. I've never known Jeri to be that late before."  
  
"HI!" Calumon shouted as he suddenly dropped onto Guilmon's head. "We're here!"  
  
"And you're late," Takato added, looking around. "Where's Jeri?"  
  
"Right here," a voice behind him said.  
  
He turned to see Jeri standing there, looking shy and generally nervous. "You okay?"  
  
Jeri blushed and nodded quickly. "I'm fine," she muttered, looking away.  
  
"Well, come on," Takato said, taking her hand and pulling her after him. "I know a great place where we can get free food."  
  
Jeri looked down at her hand in his and turned bright red, thankful he wasn't looking at her.  
  
Guilmon followed them at a distance. "Jerimon isn't supposed to be red like me, is she?"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that," Calumon said. "They do that sometimes. Hey, maybe she'll give him a lip thing soon!"  
  
"Is that anything like candy?" Guilmon asked hopefully. Takato always shared his candy.  
  
"No, you can't EAT a lip thing," Calumon said wisely. "But they do make you feel yummy inside!"  
  
"Oh," Guilmon said. "Maybe I can still have one, anyway…"  
  
* * * * *  
  
"A protection program?" Henry asked.  
  
"I feel sorry for whoever Calumon's supposed to be protecting," Terriormon muttered.  
  
"They were Digimon we inserted into the mainframe to police the others," Mr. Wong explained. "Digimon probably wouldn't like the fact that they were being controlled by humans, so we thought if we put the programs among them disguised as Digimon, they wouldn't get upset, since they didn't KNOW we were watching them."  
  
"So Calumon's…a spy?"  
  
"Not exactly. A spy would report back to someone, but if he were a protection program, Calumon would use his own logic system to determine right and wrong. He would protect what was right, and punish what was wrong. Although, some of the programs were flawed, and they might not function normally."  
  
Henry and Terriermon looked at each other. There was NOTHING normal about the way Calumon functioned.  
  
"Since Calumon helped you digivolve, he was obviously trying to help you protect humans from rogue Digimon."  
  
"And what about when he digivolves himself?" Henry asked.  
  
"A slightly different matter there. The programs would need to be powerful, in case they were the only ones capable of stopping a rogue. So we gave them the authority to access every Digimon's powers. At first, this was just meant to turn any rogue Digimon's powers back on them. But the programs grew smarter and stronger, and started using any Digimon's powers when needed. Still, they could only use it when something or someone was in danger."  
  
"So is there any limit to a protection program's power?" Henry asked.  
  
"Of course," Mr. Wong replied. "They can only use the powers of another Digimon offensively, because we only started them off with defensive powers. And no Digimon is all-powerful, so they can be defeated, but it's highly unlikely."  
  
"So that's why Calumon never fought before," Terriormon said. "He really didn't know how without using someone else."  
  
Henry frowned. "But when Jeri was attacked, he managed to digivolve, even though he didn't know exactly how."  
  
"Because she was in danger, and there was no one else in range," Mr. Wong answered. "Calumon was forced to use his own powers to protect her."  
  
"Where do his powers come from?" Henry asked.  
  
"All the defensive powers of a protection program are stored in a single entity called the Matrix. It rests at the heart of the digital world, so deeply buried that no one, human or Digimon, should be able to reach it. Whenever a program needs help, it accesses the Matrix through its link-"  
  
"The red triangle," Henry said.  
  
Mr. Wong nodded. "-and is granted a certain amount of power. The amount is determined by the program's current level. For security reasons, the lowest level a program could have was Rookie."  
  
"Calumon's definitely a Rookie," Terriormon chuckled.  
  
"So in his current form, Calumon can only use another Rookie's powers?"  
  
"Oh, not at all. A program can use ANY Digimon's attacks at ANY stage. Of course, they wouldn't have as much effect on a rogue if the stage and the attack didn't match up."  
  
"Let me get this straight," Terriormon said slowly. "Not only is Calumon running around out there invincible and everything, but he can kick all our butts, too? The world just became VERY unfair."  
  
"What happened to Momentie?" Henry asked with a smirk.  
  
"Forget that! HE looks more like Princess Pretty Pants than I do, and he'd probably LIKE it."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Impmon slowly and painfully opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was being blasted by Angemon.  
  
"No, it was that little punk," he growled, remembering the supposedly innocent look on Calumon's face just before he digivolved. It wasn't possible. It wasn't logical. It wasn't FAIR. Calumon probably didn't have any experience in fighting. Why should he get all the power? Why should he get all the attention from the humans?  
  
Impmon frowned and shook his head. No, humans were stupid and bratty. It didn't matter what got their attention. And if Calumon was stupid enough to hang out with them, well, he'd find out the hard way that humans were nothing but trouble. Impmon grinned evilly at the thought, then promptly passed out.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Jeri had never eaten so many different types of food before in her life. Takato seemed to know the best restaurants in town, and not just where they were located, either. He actually KNEW the restaurant owners…or they knew him, by the looks of it. They could hardly walk for ten minutes without someone spotting him and dragging them inside to try a new menu item. Jeri was so stuffed by the fifth place that she just started hoarding food in her dress to sneak back to Calumon & Guilmon (they had to wait outside).  
  
But the really weird thing was that Takato wasn't trying to impress her. He made it look as if he did this sort of thing every day of his life. Jeri realized that this wasn't a date; Takato could barely gather the courage to be alone with her. Yet in every restaurant, he was a perfect gentleman, treating her like a queen. Whether he was doing this automatically or on purpose, Jeri couldn't be sure. They had been friends for a long time, but distinguishing simple acts of friendship from romantic gestures was becoming a real chore, so Jeri just sat back and enjoyed it.  
  
Finally, they stopped at an ice cream parlor. Jeri got a tiny cone, but Takato got six large cones. Jeri had been shocked…until he gave one to Calumon and three to Guilmon, who seemed to be a bottomless pit.  
  
"What about the other cone?" she asked.  
  
Takato only grinned and held it up in the air.  
  
Without warning, the cone was suddenly plucked neatly from his hand, vanishing into thin air.  
  
Jeri's eyes widened. "How did you do that?"  
  
"Cool!" Calumon cheered. "Do it again, do it again!"  
  
Takato chuckled and leaned over to whisper in Jeri's ear. "Renamon's been following us since Shitsuki's House of Noodles."  
  
Jeri nodded slightly. "But why?" she asked.  
  
"Well, either Rika's insanely jealous and too busy to stalk us personally, or she's taken an interest in Calumon."  
  
"I thought she didn't like him?"  
  
Takato rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, she'll come around. You can only hate somebody so much when they keep helping you save the world."  
  
Jeri smiled fondly at him. "You're so smart, Takato."  
  
He blushed at bit. "Hey, it's getting late. I should take you home."  
  
"Won't your parents mind if I sleep over?"  
  
Takato's entire face was red now. "I meant YOUR home, Jeri…"  
  
"Oh, okay." She slipped her hand into his. "Let's go then."  
  
He nodded dumbly and practically let her drag him down the street.  
  
"Takatomon's turning red again, Calumon," Guilmon pointed out.  
  
"Hey, that's great! That means he might get a lip thing soon!"  
  
"Will it hurt?"  
  
"Only if he does it wrong, I guess…"  
  
There was a heavy sigh somewhere above them. "You two are impossibly idiotic."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Rika frowned and checked her D-Power again. Unless it was broken, the clump of bushes just outside the zoo's monkey cage was concealing an injured Impmon. Her first thought was to summon Renamon and put the loser out of his misery. She was certain the attack on Jeri had been totally unprovoked. Not that Rika liked Jeri or anything. It was just that if she got hurt or dead, Goggle Boy would become distracted, then Guilmon would be distracted, and as much as Rika hated to admit it, WarGrowlmon did most of the work when it came to Devas (plus Guilmon had saved her from IceDevimon).  
  
But then she paused. Impmon had to have a reason to hate humans in general and Tamers in particular. Whether it was a good reason or not wasn't up for discussion in his view, one-sided as it was. Still, Rika didn't know that much about him, and Renamon had hinted that humans had mistreated him once. Rika knew all too well what it was like to be mistreated; it was part of the reason she'd slipped out of the house so late this night. In a way, she really felt sorry for him. When she got cranky and violent, they called it a phase. When Impmon did it, they called him a monster.  
  
It wasn't fair, she realized. But she could be, for a change.  
  
With a sigh, Rika slipped the D-Power back into her pocket and headed home. She would keep an eye on Impmon, find out what made him tick. Maybe then she could keep him from getting his butt handed to him. After all, if Calumon could get her to loosen up, maybe she could be civil to a nasty Digimon.  
  
Maybe.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Takato had been trying not to look. After all, Kenta & Kazu aside, Jeri was one of his best friends. He'd seen her a million times and knew perfectly well what she looked like.  
  
Only he'd never really…looked.  
  
Either that, or she'd never really looked this good. But the more time he spent with her, the more Takato realized that Jeri was definitely a lot more attractive than she had been at the start of their date.  
  
….wait. This was NOT a date, when did it become a date?!  
  
"Something wrong, Takato?" Jeri asked softly.  
  
He blinked and glanced at her. "No. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, we've been at my house for five minutes, and you still haven't said anything." She squeezed his hand affectionately.  
  
Takato's face went blank. "Um…I was just…" He looked at her, suddenly helpless.  
  
But she didn't continue to torture him with expectant silence. Instead, Jeri smiled. "I had a wonderful time. We should do it again soon."  
  
Takato nodded rapidly. "Sure!"  
  
Jeri glanced down. "I think this is where you let go."  
  
Takato suddenly noticed he was still holding her hand. "Oh." Slowly, and even reluctantly, he released her hand.  
  
"Thanks." Jeri grinned at him. "You're so funny, Takato. You always make me laugh."  
  
Takato chuckled nervously. "Eh heh heh…"  
  
Without warning, she stepped closer (a LOT closer) to him. "Well," she whispered, staring into his eyes, "I'll see you tomorrow, Takato."  
  
Takato knew it would be wise to back up. Every remaining instinct in his body told him to, in fact. But for some reason, it seemed to make much more sense to lean forward. So he did. He noticed that Jeri's eyes were a brilliant amber color, radiating her innocence. At least, they had before. They were radiating something decidedly different now, though. Something quite…alluring.  
  
He wasn't sure who finally leaned forward and sealed the kiss. Not that it mattered much after the initial connection. Takato was flooded with an overwhelming sense of awareness. A feeling that this was just…right. And Jeri didn't really complain when he wrapped his arms around her waist. He was only vaguely aware of her arms sliding around his neck. Kissing her was the only thing of importance at that moment. Not rogue Digimon, not the homework he hadn't done yet, not even the Devas. Only Jeri.  
  
Finally, Jeri gently broke the kiss, her cheeks flushed.  
  
Takato felt the need to say…something. Anything to ensure that the moment had really happened. "Jeri…I…"  
  
She pressed a finger to his lips, stunning him into silence with a dazzling smile. "Good night, Takato." She kissed him once more, all too briefly in his now clearly biased opinion, then stepped back. Calumon dropped onto her head, giggling about "lip things" or something to that effect, and then they vanished inside the building.  
  
"Takatomon?" Guilmon emerged from the bushes, looking curious. "What did she do to you?"  
  
Takato blinked. "What DIDN'T she do to me?" he asked after a moment, shaking his head.  
  
"So…no candy?"  
  
"Candy? CANDY?" Takato stared at his Digimon. "Guilmon, how can you think of candy at a time like this?"  
  
"What's wrong with now?  
  
"I mean…I just…went on my first date, got my first kiss, and maybe even my first girlfri-" Takato froze, realizing what he was saying for (yup, you guessed it) the first time. "Is Jeri…my girlfriend?"  
  
Something landed on Takato's head, but it was too light to be Calumon. He recognized it instantly, though: Jeri's puppet. There was a slip of paper sticking out of the mouth, which read, "YES!!!" Slowly, he looked up.  
  
Jeri was leaning out of a third story window, grinning down at him. Calumon was perched on her head, still going on about "lip things" and why they were so cool.  
  
Takato smiled and looked at Guilmon. "C'mon, buddy. Let's go home."  
  
"Shouldn't you give Jerimon's thingee back?" Guilmon asked, sniffing at the puppet.  
  
"I can do that later," he replied. "Like she said, I'll see her tomorrow."  
  
And he did, too.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Continued in Chapter 5: Unexpected Allies  
  
An act of kindness gives Impmon a new perspective on humans, and a Tamer to boot! But when his Tamer becomes interested in another Digimon, Impmon resorts to desperate measures to prove he's the best. 


End file.
